How To Establish Australian Plants

The following information was obtained from the brochure of the same name
published by the The Society for Growing Australian Plants NSW Ltd

Australia is indeed the lucky country, for it has been blessed with one of the most unique and diverse ranges of native plants to be found anywhere in the world.

Our native plants have adapted, grown and flourished under the wide range of climatic conditions and soil differences that occur throughout this, the driest of all continents.

This guide has been produced to help you establish and grow Australian plants successfully in your garden and be rewarded with years of enjoyment.

Before you start planting, it is worthwhile to know the type of garden soil you have and to consider ways of improving it.

If for instance you are starting a garden in a new subdivision then chances are that most of the top soil has been removed and you will need to improve the ground before you start planting.

Adding compost and organic matter to your garden helps break up clay soils, improves the water holding ability of sandy soils and encourages worms, which help to aerate the soil.

As you will have noticed, from looking around nurseries and reading gardening books, not all plants like to be grown under the same conditions.

Some plants like the sun, others shade, some grow best in moist soils, others prefer it a little on the dry side, some need protection from winds and cold, others thrive in open, exposed positions.

For best results select plants that will grow well in the chosen area, and group plants with similar water and cultural requirements in the same general areas of your garden.

This allows you to keep the plants that need regular watering in one area and to more easily control and gradually reduce the amount of water needed by the majority of sun loving Australian plants.

1.	Thoroughly soak the soil around the plant in the container.
2.	If you are planting into an established garden bed with well cultivated soil then simply dig your planting hole to the same depth as the container from which you are planting, and a little wider. Fill with water and let it drain. If you are planting in a new garden, where little or no soil preparation has been done, it is a good idea to loosen the soil for about 1 square metre and then ideally dig the whole area over to a depth of around 30cm. Then make your planting hole the same as for the established garden.
3.	Removal of the plant from the container is easy if the plant is in a pot. Place your hand over the pot surface with the stem of the plant between your second and third finger. Tap the edge of the pot on something solid and remove the plant and soil ball in one piece.
4.	At this point check the roots. Curling roots must be straightened out.
5.	Place the plant in the hole with all the roots pointing downwards.
6.	Gradually fill in the surrounding space with soil and firm down with your hand or foot and make sure the plant finished up at the same level with the soil as it was in the container.
7.	Thoroughly water your new plant to settle the soil around the roots.
8.	Spread a suitable mulch around the new plant, taking care not to place the mulch right up against the base of the main stem, as this may cause collar rot. For fertilising, consult your local nursery.

Mulch is any material that can be placed on top of the ground that will act as an insulator between the sun’s rays and the earth. Mulch reduces the rate of evaporation of water, protects the plant’s root system from rapid temperature changes and helps limit the growth of weeds.

So with the ability to fulfil three of the most important roles in development and success of your garden you should mulch at every opportunity.

Mulch can range from old newspapers to straw, leaf litter, bark chips, pebbles and even living native groundcovers.

You need to train your plants to be water wise, just the way you would train your pets to behave. The more you give into them, the more demanding and less self supporting they become.

Most plants have been growing under controlled conditions in the nursery, with water sprinklers that come on at regular intervals, sometimes 2 or 3 times a day.

Therefore in order to become less water demanding and more dry-period tolerant when you get them home, your plants need to be gradually weaned off their previous high water dependency cycle.

Australian natives that are planted out and not properly watered during the first few months will rarely thrive, and may even die particularly if they are neglected during extended periods of dry weather.

In other words you can’t simply dig a hole, plant an Australian native, let it dry out, and expect to get the results your are looking for, a healthy garden specimen!

However once properly established, most native plants will grow and thrive in the garden with minimum watering and require very little ongoing maintenance.

By following a few simple procedures you will have a garden with plants that look attractive and use less water.